Manual Therapy vs. Surgery for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Coast Chiropractic in Fort Myers
Jun 6, 2021 -- Posted by :When people suspect they have carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), it’s typical that their first thought is that their condition will require surgery and a lengthy recovery. While surgery may be warranted in emergency situations, treatment guidelines encourage patients to seek non-surgical options first. So how do non-surgical approaches like manual therapy interventions —provided in a chiropractic setting—compare with surgery to treat CTS?
In 2018, a team of European researchers reviewed data from ten studies that compared the effectiveness of surgery vs. non-surgical care for the treatment of CTS. While the results favored non-surgical approaches at three months and surgery at six months, the available data show no difference in outcome one year later. Thus, the research team concluded that conservative treatment should be preferred unless otherwise indicated.
If both surgery and non-surgical options produce similar outcomes at the one-year mark, can CTS improve on its own?
In one study that involved 22 patients (19 of whom had CTS in both hands), researchers incorporated a twelve-week waiting period into the experiment to see if symptoms worsened, stayed the same, or improved. Questionnaires completed by the participants who abstained from manual therapy interventions showed that their symptoms worsened during the twelve-week non-treatment period.
The treatment phase of the study involved six sessions twice a week for three weeks and incorporated manual therapies to address the soft tissues of the hand and wrist and the carpal bones. The patients reported that treatment resulted in improvements with respect to both pain and function. This led the researchers to recommend manual therapy interventions as a valid non-surgical treatment approach for CTS.
Doctors of chiropractic specialize in manual therapy techniques and employ these regularly for many neuromusculoskeletal conditions, including CTS and related conditions that may contribute to a patient’s hand and wrist symptoms—something that a carpal tunnel release procedure cannot address. To achieve optimal results, it’s important to seek PROMPT assessment and non-surgical treatment for CTS.
So, if you are experiencing wrist pain, numbness, hand weakness, and carpal tunnel symptoms and you type in pain management near me, you may find Coast Chiropractic Centers with Dr. Timothy Harcourt, me, comes up.
You may wonder, “Do I need an MRI scan of my neck or wrist.”?
What is carpal tunnel syndrome?
You may have a “funny feeling like a numbness frequently called paresthesia. Even a handshake may be painful or weak. Some people have prescribed chemicals that may temporarily reduce the numbness but not fixing the problem. The numbing in the fingers can be annoying and even debilitating.
Also, if you feel arm pain it may indicate things are getting worse and may indicate a bulge on the disc or worse yet a herniated disc in your neck. Persistent or worsening pain intensity and/or frequency necessitates a visit to see a professional.
Call me, Dr. Tim Harcourt, at (239) 278-3344 and mention this article for an awesome discounted first visit to include history, exam, and adjustment or Class IV high-intensity laser treatment.